I just got a very nice Strat copy and it sounds really good and plays well. Gets a really good '71-'72 tone as is.

I'm debating whether I should add a UGB and 25K pot to it or just leave it alone. I don't want an OBEL. It's nice to leave it plugged in and not worry that I'm draining the battery and it sounds good. It sounds great but I wonder if it will sound better with the UGB. Plus it make the guitar volume control more functional.

This is a second guitar. I already have a "full on" '80's Jerry Tiger type guitar. This is more for an earlier 70's (pre-Wolf) sound.

I was thinking of that too. Seems appropriate for the time period I'm going for. However, I happen to have an extra EMG buffer (old JG-2) with a trim pot on it that boosts the signal. I'm wondering if that would be similar to the Blaster (so I can save money). I've only used it in the past with the trim pot all the way down for unity gain.

Blasters are cool especially if you wanna push your amp with single coils. without the OBEL you will have a buffer active from a pedal anyway. I noticed before I put my buffer in my OBEL guitar, the pedals made the OBEL side sound much clearer than the non buffered side. Unless you have all True bypass pedals. You already have a good boost pedal, you may wanna leave it alone and rely on the pedals to give you the extras. I like my strat without a UGB it just sounds so nice and vintage that way, I do prefer a boost with it though to get some natural amp clipping.

If you have it on hand, why not install it and make it switchable? Scott Walker does that on some of his guitars. He sent me a Walker Special to try like that, but it was a Jangletone and a little brighter when it was on. He uses a dual pot for it.

Kimock likes to be able to turn it on and off for certain effects that react better without it. He's got a fine set of ears, so he must hear an advantage to having it available when he wants it.

You could always swap it for a blaster later if you find you're not using it.